Whether you use eBay or not, it certainly has changed the secondary marketing of HL's. Some people love it. Some people hate it.

You can find some great bargains on HL's on eBay but those deals have lowered the overall value of our beloved collectible. You can also find some very rare pieces there too, and that's a definite plus for serious collectors.

What do you think is the future of secondary market sales of HL's on eBay? Will there come a time when dealer-dumping will no longer exist at that auction place and HL auctions will be for those sellers who are selling out a collection of HL's that is no longer wanted by the owner?

When it comes to limited edition HL's, it's not like there are thousands of them to sell. Harbour Lights only made so many, and many of those pieces were purchased by people to keep. The only ones for sale would be those offered by a dealer as a stock reduction or someone who purchased them and no longer wishes to keep them.

One would think that if a person purchased a piece at retail, why would they want to get rid of it for a tremendous loss from the original purchase price. With smaller edition sizes of LE's, most of the HL's would end up in the hands of collectors who would keep them. Why purchase at retail and set yourself up for a loss everytime you put one on eBay.

We all know the collectible industry has suffered in the last five years. This did bring about what I would call panic selling of collectibles. Will this trend end soon? Will all the people who want to dispose of HL's at a loss finally run out of HL's to put on eBay? In other words, will the supply of cheap-priced HL's dry up? If it does, will that increase the value of HL's in all our collections?

Supply and demand can make a big difference in how a product sells. If things are easy to find and everybody has one for sale then the price will be cheap. If things are difficult to find and only a chosen few have them for sale then expect to pay a lot more.

My hope is all the cheap HL secondary market purchases will disappear sometime in the not so distant future. Then people will have to pay more if they want a particular piece for their collection. Then all our collections will suddenly become more valuable than they are today.

What do you think? Will the value of older HL's ever go back up?

Bob

The Internet has changed the process of buying and selling most anything.

People with 'special knowledge' used to be able to operate at a higher level of profit.

Real estate agents, for example. They had exclusive access to the multi-listings of what was for sale in a given market, what other similar homes had actually sold for, how long a property had been on the market, perhaps even how urgenly the seller needed to close the sale. They also could size up how potential buyers felt about a property and how desperate they were to buy now.

These agents, for the most part, made a percentage of the sale price. The more they could get for the house, the more they made. Yet, they would get unless and until the property sold. Their special knowledge and access to information meant people buying or selling real estate needed their services and these agents could maximize their income by using their special knowledge.

Take car dealers as well. Today you can compare used and new cars at many dealers in a given distance from your home - see the mileage, the features, photos of the vehicles. You can walk into one dealer with the color and model and year you want and show them 4 other print outs of comparable cars for less money and probably go home with the best deal. Some dealers post a 'bottom line' price on each vehicle that (supposedly) is the one-price-for-all, no haggling. Dealers sell the ownership (or lease) of a vehicle as a package - making money on each part of the package - mandatory add-ons, insurance, financing, value of the trade-in, etc.

The collectibles secondary market was a market of people with 'special knowledge' These dealers had special knowledge of individuals who wanted to sell, which pieces were for available. etc. What did the sellers want to realize from their sale? How much had other similar pieces sold for in the past? Buyers and sellers generally had no knowledge of each other.

The Internet allowed buyers to meet potential sellers from around the country - and around the world. eBay is just a vehicle to link buyers and sellers. The Marketplace is another.

Someone with something to sell - whether of little, no or great value to themselves as a seller, can find someone else somewhere (anywhere) who is looking for that item. A newspaper classified ad for a Harbour Lights might potentially reach a dozen other collectors - maybe one, maybe none who are looking for the advertised piece. On eBay and the Internet, buyers go looking for sellers and can usually find one, perhaps with only a little wait.

Special knowledge has been spread on the Internet. We won't go back. eBay or something like it will continue and so the value of anything for sale is knocked down to the basic "what is it worth to the buyer" vs. "what's the least the seller will accept for it."

Collectors selling collections, or someone who received a Harbour Lights as a gift 10 years ago and places almost no value on it and who has no knowledge of it's worth to someone else, will always happen. Dealers going out of business or who overbought products and are willing to sell pieces to recover all or some of their wholesale investment -- despite their agreement.

The people who bought 10 Thomas Points because they heard how quickly they sold out when introduced, thinking they were going to make a 'killing' on the secondary market, ended up with no profit or even a loss when it came time to turn their $1,000 'investment' into cash again.

Friends, you've heard it said many, many times. Buy them because you like them. Because you appreciate their beauty, the detail, the history each lighthouse represents. Buy them as a memento of a trip to visit the real lighthouse. Buy them because you enjoy seeing your curio filled with your collection. Don't expect that in the near term or the mid term you'll be able to convert them into cash again.

If you tire of them, give them away as gifts to friends, co-workers, family one at a time. Donate them to a school or a lighthouse to sell or give away. Sell them to a fellow collector. Or keep them to recall the memories of your participation in the community of lighthouse lovers and Harbour Lights collectors over the years.

I lost money on several of my pieces, and several people gained and good for them as it was no big deal to me. BTW I sold them (and gave some away) on the CF not EBay at the time....I didn't care, because I was downsizing my home, and I needed them gone! Just that simple. One may be collecting for thier beauty, or because they have visited that particular lighthouse, and perhaps those things are not that significant anymore to the collector, so it would make it easy to "dump" them as it were.

However, if one is collecting them with the sole purpose in making a gain, or financing thier retirement, then I could understand the worry or frustration with the prices and thier future. Me? I like not to worry....

...Or maybe folks just decided what was more important in thier life......

I write this as a licensed real estate broker and Realtor in the state of Virginia (27 years)...

The internet has changed the way a real estate agent does business, yes. It has given us instant access to all other Realtors ( real estate agents who are also members of the National Association of Realtors) and their inventory. It has given us instant access to buyers and sellers from all over. It has given us more mobility and more tools.

It has not reduced our margin of profit but rather has allowed us to operate in a more proficient and smarter way. We get paid for doing our job.

Does more of the general public try to buy and sell on their own without the educated espertise of a Realtor? I don't believe so. The NAR does an excellent job of awareness to the public of the value of working with a Realtor.

Our "special knowledge" is a lot. Real estate is our specialty. We are licensed by the state or states where we practice and are required to stay educated to the daily changes. Our knowledge and expertise has been proven to get the seller more for his property and the buyer more value for his dollar - and all with less stress and in a quicker time frame. We are armed with education, knowledge and experience.

Would you perform heart surgery on yourself or a loved one because you could find the "how to" on the internet? People buying and selling real estate need the services of a Realtor more today than ever before. The internet gives us more tools to use our knowledge to work smarter and faster.

To refer this back to the subject of the thread, the internet gives us more tools as HL collectors. We are smart enough to use what's good and spot what's not. We gain that knowledge largely from the internet - this site and the Harbour Light's site. We are armed with education, knowledge and experience when we use Ebay, whether it be as a seller, or as a purchaser.

Ebay has changed the way we do business as collectors. Changes are always difficult and accepted easier by some than others.

There is no question that Ebay has changed the world of collecting. There was a time when one might never see or be offered for sale some of the rarer pieces. Now all you have to do is wait awhile and you can have even the most sought after piece. Good if you’re building a collection not so good if you are selling from a price point of view. Good that it is easier to reach a lot of buyers but not so good in that the thrill of collecting is somewhat diminished by the ease of acquiring a complete collection. I feel over all while EBay has helped in the acquiring and disposing of collectables it has hurt collecting in general because it cheapened the act itself.